Online Certification Course

The NASPAA P.A. Announcers' Online Certification Course, the first of its kind for sports public address announcers, is having a new course developed. The comprehensive course, presented via streaming video, is approximately 2 hours in length. The course is taught by Mike McCartney, Stadium Announcer for the Kansas City Royals; Jeff Kurtz, the voice of the Kent State University Golden Flashes; and Mark Mills, a championship announcer for the Missouri State High School Activities Association and former University of Missouri men's basketball P.A. announcer. Each instructor has more than 25 years of announcing experience. Produced by the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the course is interactive, entertaining and informative.

Rounding out the course is a 100-question online exam. Approximately 25% of the questions are announcements. Upon listening to the announcements, individuals taking the exam will be required to determine if the announcements are proper or correct. As a question is answered, the individual taking the taking the exam will receive immediate feedback as to whether the answer he/she provided is correct. If the individual is not able to provide the correct answer on a subsequent attempt, the proper answer will be provided. Anyone who takes the course will receive NASPAA Certification.

“When the NASPAA approached the NFHS about online learning and serving as a resource for revising the course, we gladly accepted the invitation. While the course is ideal for all P.A. announcers, we would highly recommend that ALL high school P.A. announcers take the course and become certified. In light of the fact that certification has been available to coaches, athletic administrators and to athletic trainers just to mention a few, we could not be more pleased that P.A. announcers now have the same professional development opportunity. The credibility that goes with being certified by the national association (NASPAA) is of the utmost importance, which is why we are proud to recommend the NASPAA P.A. Announcers' Online Certification Course.”

Tim Flannery, NFHS Director of Coach Education

“Because the NFHS Online Learning Center is one of the best resources for courses and certification, the NASPAA benefitted immensely from its guidance and expertise. We are truly fortunate to work with
Spire Interactive, the company that developed the NASPAA online course.  Not only will the course utilize state of the art technology, but it will also feature the latest online learning techniques. The beauty of the course is that it fits all levels of announcing--school and non-school. Since P.A. announcers play an important role in helping administer athletic events, questions concerning liability could be raised if the P.A. announcer, by what he or she says or does, contributes to an incident. The course addresses situations to help minimize risk, not only for P.A. announcers, but for the schools and organizations who they are serving. We wish to thank the P.A. announcers, athletic administrators and the state and national associations that contributed to the course. A special thank you goes to the NFHS for taking a special interest in our effort to deliver the most practical course possible about P.A. announcing.”

Brad Rumble, NASPAA Executive Director

Course Content

• Announcers' Code of Conduct
• Need for professional development
• Being evaluated
• Role of the announcer
• Pre-event/game responsibilities
• Opening/welcome announcement
• Safety and security issues
• Introduction of players/teams
• Announcing Do's and Don'ts
• Using scripts
• Halftime responsibilities
• Closing the event
• Emergency situations
• Special announcements
• National Anthem
• Sportsmanship
• Death of a player, coach, student or faculty member

Promo Videos

• Video 1
• Video 2

Taking the Course

Signups for taking the course online will begin shortly; check back for registration information.

Testimonials

"As a veteran public address announcer with over 30 years experience, I have found that you are never too old to learn!  This course is ideal for P.A. announcers who have been announcing for many years as well or who have limited experience or who are just getting started.

This course may challenge your beliefs and practices about P.A. announcing. What some P.A. announcers believe is the proper way to announce or have been told is acceptable is not always true.

The information presented in this course is about the correct way to announce, and provides announcers with a foundation and philosophy about P.A. announcing that will benefit them no matter what level they announce.  From a professional development perspective, there’s nothing better.”

Glen Waddle, CPAA, Voice of the University of Mississippi football and baseball
Voice of the Mississippi College basketball
Voice of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Basketball and Baseball Championships
Voice of the Mississippi Association of Coaches All Star Football and Basketball Games
2010 NASPAA NCAA P.A. Announcer of the Year

"I have taken many professional certification courses in the past, but the NAASPA online certification course was by far one of the most practical and rewarding! As a high school sports announcer who aspires to go to the next level, the course provided me with some great fundamental applications that will prove to be very useful in the years to come. In fact, two days after completing the online course, I encountered a technology problem in the press box prior to the start of a football game and remembered what I learned from the sound and audio module from the online course. I was able to very quickly and confidently address the issue and get it resolved before any of the fans ever knew there was an issue!

Pete Mattix, CPAA
Voice of the Generals
Shiloh High School
Gwinnett County, GA